Container for comminuted material



NITED STAT ES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY B. PRUDEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO POWDERED COAL ENGINEER- ING & EQUIPMENT COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

CONTAINER FOR COMMINUTED MATERIAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 11, 1920.

Application filed January 7, 1916. Serial No. 70,834.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I HARRY B. PRUDEN, a citizen of the United tates, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Containers for'Comminuted Material, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the handling and storing of comminuted material and especially to means for storing comminuted fuel and means for discharging the fuel from the storage means.

Heretofore storage tanks have been employed for comminuted material, but it has been found to be practically impossible to properly discharge all of the material from such tanks when desired, there being always a residue of undischarged material.

One important object of the invention consists, therefore, in the-provision of a tank for the storage of comminuted material which is of improved construction so that,

by certain arrangements of the parts all of the material may be discharged from the tank when desired.

A second important object of the inven-- tion is the provision of improved means for regulating the amount of material discharged.

A third' important object of the invention is the provision of means of improved character and whichalfords a combined siphonic and vacuum action for the discharge of the material from such tank.

A fourth important object of the invention is the provision of air jet means for forcing material toward the bottom of a tank of this description, the means being of improved character.

A fifth important object of the invention is the provision of means for producing the siphonic action from the bottom of the tank and other means, in combination with the last mentioned means for producing an agitating air jet or blast around the siphonic means, both of these means being capable of regulation relative to each other and for the amount of siphonic and agitating actions produced.

atmosphere and that tanks containing such from absorbing moisture.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in general of certain novel details of construction and arrangements of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and specifically claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the view which shows a vertical median section through an apparatus for storing and discharging comminuted material as constructed in accordance with this invention.

The apparatus herein shown and described is to be understood as typical of one preferred form of such apparatus and it will be, obvious, from what follows hereinafter, that the size, proportions and details of this apparatus may be varied to meet the particular requirements of different cases without departing from the material principle involved and claimed.

The drawing illustrates, in vertical longitudinal section, one form of apparatus capable of carrying the invention into efi'ect.

In the form of the device illustrated in the present embodiment, there is provided a tank having an upper cylindrical portion 10 and alower inverted frusto-conical portion 11 having its lower end opening as at 12 to an air chamber 13 which receives air from an air inlet pipe 14, the latter being controlled by a suitable gate or valve 15. In order to regulate the amount-of air passing through the opening 12 there is provided a frusto-conical valve 16 of such size as to close the opening 12 completely when seated therein and this valve is provided with a hollow stem 17 threaded through a box 18 fixed in the bottom of the chamber 13. On the valve stem is an operating wheel 19 so that by manipulating the Wheel, the valve 16 may be moved toward or from its seat.

Thevalve 16 is hollow and has a tubular upward extension 20, wherein slides an adj ustable nozzle 21. This nozzle is supported on a valve stem 22 threaded through the hollow stem 17 and operated by a hand wheel 23. By this means the relative positions of the valve and nozzle may be var ed, both to each other and to the remaining parts.

Surrounding the upper end of the nozzle is what'is referably termed a siphon inlet 24 and ii'om the upper end of this inlet a discharge pipe 25 leads upward and outward through one side of the cylindrical portion 10 of the tank, suitable packing 26 being provided to prevent passage of am around the pipe. he upper part of the tank 10 is provlded with an inlet, preferably valve controlled, such as the pipe 27.

By means of this construction materlal fed into the tank through the pipe 27 may be ejected through the pipe 25. To do this the gate 15 is opened and the wheels 19 and 23 so manipulated that the air flowing 1nto the tank around the valve 16 will cause the formation of a dust cloud below the inlet 24, while the air passing through the nozzle 21 will set up a siphonic action and cause this dust cloud to flow through the discharge pipe 25. In order to regulate the extent of outflow I surround the lower end of the 1nlet 24 with an adjustable sleeve valve 28 supported by a spider 29 which carries at its upper end a nut 30 through WhlCh passes a stem 31, the latter being locked in position by lock nuts 32. This provides adjustment of the sleeve relative to the stem 31. In order to move the sleeve up and down, the upper end of the stem 31 is threaded as at 33 and passes through a box34, being provided at its outer end with an operating handle 35. By this means the sleeve may be moved up or down to open or close the space between the inlet 24 and the bottom of the tank.

In order to overcome the lodging of the material on the bottom of the tank as well as to assist in forcing material toward the bottom, it ispreferred to surround the tank bottom with a chamber 36 having an air inlet 37 controlled by a gate or valve 38. Leading from the chamber 36 are certain downwardly directed jet nozzles or louvers 39-so that the air under pressure in the chamber 36 will flow downward through these louvers and carry the comminuted material down with it, while at the same time agitating it so that the air entering around the valve 16 is assisted in the formation of the dust cloud. To further aid in this operation there is provided at the upper end of the tank an air inlet pipe 40 carrying air under pressure to a'centrally disposed ring pipe 41 from which depend a series of pipes 42 provided at their-lower ends with downwardly and inwardly directed nozzles 43,

- these nozzles preferably terminating just above the mouth of the inlet 24. Thus, while the air from the chamber 36 agitates and forces downward the outer portion of the tank contents, the air entering through for comminuted material, of

siphonic action in the pipe the nozzle 43 performs the same the inner port1on of said contents.

It is to benoted that practice has shown I that the arrangement thus set forth not only produces an ejector action through the discharge pipe 25, but that this arrangement does not mcrease pressure in the tank 10, prolducing instead a partial vacuum in said tan As heretofore noted comminuted material is very hygroscopic and thus has a marked tendency to cake when moist. It is found that single walled tanks fail to prevent access of moisture to comminuted material held therein. In order to overcome this objection, I surround at-least the upper portion of the tank 10 with an outer wall 44 action for made for heating and drying the air entering through the several air inlets, the particular provision not being necessary here to be shown as the same form no part of this invention.

The operation having been described in detail. it is deemed merely necessary to state that the material, contained in a vacuum walled tank, is fed downward and agitated by air pressure and is formed into a cloud and ejected by a combined siphonic and vacuum action, the pressure in the pipe 25 being greater than that in the tank 10.

What is claimed as new is:-

1. The combination with a storage tank a discharge pipe leading from the tank, means for supplying air to the material in planes oblique to its path of travel, and means to produce and a partial vacuum in the tank.

2. The combination with a storage tank for comminuted material, of a discharge pipe leading from the tank, air supply means to producesiphonic action in the plpe and a partial vacuum in the tank, and other air supply means arranged to force the material in the tank downward and in a direction oblique to its natural path and to simultaneously agitate the same.

3. The combination with a storage tank for comminuted material of a discharge pipe leading. from the tank, air pressure means discharging obliquely to the natural path of the material, and other means for supplyin the pipe and a partial vacuum in the tank.

4. The combination with a storage tank for comminuted material of a discharge pipe leading from the tank, air pressure means discharging obliquely to the natural path of the material, said first mentioned means being further arranged to force the material in the tank downwardly and simultaneously agitate the same, and means for injecting an upward discharge current of air in regulable uantities to the discharge pipe.

5. The combination of a storage tank for comminuted material, of pneumatic means for discharging material from the tank including means for producing a dust cloud at the point of discharge, and other pneumatic means discharging obliquely to the normal path of movement of the material for forcing material to the point of discharge and simultaneously agitating the material.

6. The combination with a storage tank for comminuted material having an opening in its bottom, of a valve controlling the opening, a discharge pipe leading from the tank and having its inlet end alined with the opening, an adjustable air jet nozzle discharging air under pressure into the pipe away from the opening in the tank, and means for supplying the air to the material in planes oblique to its path of travel.

7 The combination with a storage tank for comminuted material having an opening in its bottom, of a valve controlling the opening, a discharge pipe leading from the tank and having its inlet end alined with the opening, an air jet nozzle dischar ing air under pressure into the pipe away rom the opening in the tank, pneumatic means for forcing the material toward the opening and simultaneously agitating said material, and downwardly and inwardly'direeted air jet nozzles spaced above and surrounding said opening.

8. The combination with a storage tank for comminuted material provided with an inverted frusto-conical bottom having its lower end open, a hollow cone valve controlling the opening, a jet nozzle carried by the valve, a discharge pipe extending from the tank and having its inlet end alined with the nozzle, and means to supply air to the nozzle and opening simultaneously.

9. The combination with a storage tank for comminuted material provided with an inverted frusto-conical bottom having its lower end open, a hollow cone valve controlling the opening, a jet nozzle carried by the valve, a discharge pipe extending from the tank and having its inlet end alined with the nozzle, means to supply air to the nozzle and o ening simultaneously, and means to contro the positions of the valve and nozzle.

10. The combination with a storage tank for comminuted material having an opening in its bottom, of a valve controlling the opening, a discharge pipe leading from the tank and having its inlet end alined with the opening, an air jet nozzle dischar ing air under pressure into the pipe away rom the opening in the tank, means to control the positions of the valve and nozzle, and valve means to control the flow of material toward the inlet end of the discharge pipe.

11. The combination with a storage tank for comminuted material provided with an inverted frusto-conical bottom having its lower end open, a hollow cone valve controlling the opening, a jet nozzle carried by the valve, a discharge pi e extending from the tank and having its in et end alined with the nozzle, means to supply air to the nozzle and opening simultaneously, means to control the positions of the valve and nozzle, and valve means to control the flow of material toward the inlet end of the discharge pipe.-

12. A receptacle for comminuted material having a dry air chamber covering its bottom, said bottom having obliquely discharging openings affording communication between the interior of the receptacle and the dry air chamber, said dry air chamber and bottom being arranged to provide a central opening, and means to supply air to the ceniral opening separately from the air cham- 13. A receptacle for comminuted material provided with a dry air chamber covering its bottom, said bottom having obliquely discharging openings affording communication between the interior of the receptacle and the dry air chamber, said openings being inwardly and downwardly directed, said dry air chamber and bottom being arranged to provide a central opening, and means to supply air to the central opening separately from the air chamber.

14. The combination with a container for comminuted material having a bottom of inverted frusto-conical form and being surrounded by a dry air chamber, said bottom being provided with obliquely and down- 115 wardly directed openings and having their lower ends open, an air chamber below the opening, a hollow cone valve in said opening, an adjustable nozzle carried by the valve, a discharge pipe having its inlet end 120 within the conical bottom, a sleeve valve surrounding the inlet end of the discharge pipe, means to supply air to the air chambers, and means to control the positions of the valves and nozzle.

. 15. The combination with a container for comminuted material having an upper cylindrical portion forming a vacuum chamber, the bottom of the container being of inverted frusto-conical form and being sur- 130 rounded with a dry air chamber, there being obliquely and downwardly directed openings in the bottom, an air amber below the bottom having controlled port communication with the interior of the container, and air agitating and ejecting means for the material held within the hollow of the bottom. 7

16. In a device of the class described, a container having a conical bottom with an opening at the apex thereof, an adjustable valve controlling said opening, said valve being hollow and formed with a nozzle, an air chamber communicating with the opening and with the nozzle of said valve, means for supplying said chamber with air, means HARRY B. PRUDEN. 

